Chapter 511
The blood dripping from the red eyes,
Drip, drip...
Touched the body of the split snake.
Then,
Fwoosh...!
The wounds slashed by Galactic Sword Scar ignited in flames all at once.
[Argh... Aaaargh...!]
The fire searing the wounds inflicted unbearable pain, making the snake scream.
But his suffering did not end there.
Shuuu...!
Some of the Constellation relics, which had been sucked into Galactic Sword Scar, moved toward the snake.
Thump! Thump!
The relics pierced into the split body of Martial God one after another.
Because of it, Martial God's body started to regenerate, even as it burned.
The grotesque body was covered with the Constellation relics, swelling hideously.
[Ah... Aaaah... What is happening...?]
As Martial God looked at his own transformation in bewilderment,
[I should have done this sooner. Saving my power was a mistake.]
The Red Administrator watched this scene with satisfaction.
[I should know better than to predict gallantly in areas I don't fully understand. I thought this much power would be enough, but you couldn't even stall for time.]
"Stall for time... What are you trying to do?"
[What do you think?]
When the red eyes gleamed, Seong Jihan's eyes turned icy.
"Are you planning on creating the Hell again?"
[Correct.]
"You seem exceptionally fixated on that."
[BattleNet is an outdated relic. Dealing with the souls consumed by the Void through the emergence of the Hell made it an inefficient system. Now, we need a new platform.]
A platform?
Was this guy thinking of creating an entirely new system beyond just building the Hell?
Seong Jihan was taken aback by the gleaming red eyes.
"A new platform besides BattleNet... Are you thinking of creating something like The Nether?"
[The Nether... That has a rather negative connotation. HeavenNet would be a more fitting name.]
"...HeavenNet? Are you serious?"
[If there is hell, there must be heaven too. Unlike the current system where the Void obliterates souls, if we could extract resources from them... the inhabitants of that system could live much more prosperously. It would be much closer to a paradise than the present.]
Extract resources from the dead?
Seong Jihan recalled the Red World Tree, which had been sealed on Earth.
That tree also had ghosts of a fallen clan attached to it.
Was the Red World Tree's powerful life force because it extracted 'resources' from those who should have been devoured by the Void?
"You won't allow the dead to rest and keep exploiting them?"
[Rest? Rest is already given when they die. Running the Hell is recycling the remnants. Isn't that acceptable?]
"And you will govern that Hell?"
[There's no choice. There's no one else to manage this system but me.]
The bleeding from the red eyes stopped.
The Red Administrator quietly stared at Seong Jihan.
[Actually... There's one more. You too can do it.]
"...Me?"
[You also possess the talent of the Red. You might even be better than me, since you have the Blue as well.]
With a serious tone, the Red Administrator made an offer.
[Will you cooperate with me, Seong Jihan? I will give you half the administration rights to the Hell. If you prove better than me, you could have all of it.]
"I saw the owner of the Arena die that way. Do you think I would cooperate with you?"
[He lacked capability. But you are worth it.]
Seong Jihan smirked at those words.
He abandoned the owner of the Arena.
And turned his own creation, Martial God, into a grotesque monster with weapons sticking out.
There was no way to be allies with such a person.
"I refuse."
[As expected, but that's unfortunate.]
Shuuuu...
The form of the red eyes began to blur.
[Then, stay here and play with my warehouse keeper for a while. I have much to do...]
He didn't even call him Martial God anymore.
So he thought of this Tuseong as his personal warehouse?
'That guy is the real problem.'
The Red Administrator was the true threat, more so than Martial God.
Seong Jihan thought this and observed the opponent before him.
The snake, filled with weapons.
Its body swelling grotesquely, clearly in an abnormal state.
'He's forcibly drawing out power... probably can't sustain it for long.'
In that case, there was no need to fight.
Seong Jihan calmly assessed the situation.
'Maybe using the Golden Wheel to go back to Earth is a better option.'
The Red Administrator's aim to rebuild the Hell.
Judging by his orders to stall for time, he seemed intent on causing trouble on Earth.
Rather than wasting strength fighting this state of Martial God,
Using the Golden Wheel to return to Earth and dealing with the Red Administrator seemed wiser.
'Losing the title of Martial God is a pity, but...'
The title of 'Martial God', as mentioned in Infinite Annihilation God.
It would likely be given as a reward for defeating the opponent here.
However, missing out on that title to swiftly return to Earth,
And efficiently dealing with the Red Administrator seemed like a better choice.
Just as Seong Jihan was about to use the Golden Wheel,
-The red guy is back again, when will he die?
-So persistent.
-Forget the Hell, just die already, seriously.
-Oh... why is the screen like this...
Viewer chat streams paused and then,
[BattleTube is terminating due to an unknown cause.]
[Star Buff will be deactivated.]
BattleTube was forcibly terminated.
And with it, the automatic deactivation of the Star Buff and Supernova.
Simultaneously,
Flash...!
The split Tuseong was wrapped in a giant veil of light.
'Is this...'
Seong Jihan frowned.
Management of BattleTube was likely under the White's jurisdiction.
The timing, deactivation of the Star Buff, and the enveloping veil of light around Tuseong were too coincidental.
His eyes turned steely.
'Could the White Administrator be involved?'
The cooperation between the two was now almost certain.
As Seong Jihan contemplated,
[Hissss...]
The snake embedded with weapons glared at him with blazing red eyes and approached.
The eyes of a beast having lost its sanity.
'The Golden Wheel... might be stopped by that veil.'
He hadn't tested it, but Seong Jihan sensed it.
Using the Golden Wheel here would be blocked by that veil.
'With the strength to cast such a veil, it would've been easier to attack me directly... suggesting some constraints.'
The White Administrator disrupted the Star Buff and cast the veil but didn't directly attack Seong Jihan.
This implied some undisclosed constraints.
In that case,
'I must handle the snake first.'
Seong Jihan watched the approaching Martial God and gripped his sword.
A foe in a mindless frenzy.
Yet, his strength remained formidable, almost equal to the unscathed Martial God before the Galactic Sword Scar.
Shuuuuk...!
Constellation relics rose from the snake's body.
[Hiss, Hissss...]
The snake opened its mouth wide.
Launching a ferocious attack on Seong Jihan.
* * *
The sealed underground in the West Sea.
Since Seong Jihan had drawn the Taiji Sword and the light subsided,
[Initiating investigation.]
A Chinese submarine had arrived, and divers and underwater robots were conducting research around the area.
"I hope we get good results."
"Did you see it a moment ago? A human splitting a planet... truly devastating power."
"Haha, expecting that much would be greed. I'd be happy if we win the Worlds Champion League."
"With Seong Jihan having retired from the national team, we must reclaim the top spot in Asia."
"But why did Seong Jihan's broadcast end?"
"Indeed. I'm puzzled that BattleTube encountered such an error."
The Chinese research team, who had been curious about the energy source after witnessing the sword light extending from the seabed to the sky,
Began their investigation right after Seong Jihan pulled out the sword.
They didn't hope for much.
Just finding any clue would be enough.
But,
"Um..."
The investigation faced difficulties soon after it commenced.
"Control of the robots has been lost."
"Lost control? Were the robots defective?"
"No, they functioned perfectly during the simulations..."
As they panicked over losing control of the underwater robots,
"Oh..."
"What, what's that?"
"Where is that red light coming from...?"
A red light suddenly spread inside the submarine, and they hastily scanned their surroundings.
And soon,
Szzz...
They discovered a giant red eye above their heads inside the submarine.
"Oh..."
"That eye, is that...!"
"The Red Administrator?"
A figure they had seen through Seong Jihan's broadcast earlier.
Just moments ago, he had been on Tuseong, so how could he appear here?
As the researchers looked at the ceiling with fearful eyes,
[It's not here either.]
The red eye moved slightly.
Then the entire submarine engulfed in flames.
"F-fire!"
"Ahhh...!"
The people, burning up in an instant.
The Red Administrator watched them calmly.
[I shouldn't have just let them burn; I should utilize them.]
Deciding to make use of the burning humans,
Ssss...
Parts of their bodies stopped burning in the flames.
Crunch, crunch...
Their bodies began merging together.
In the immense fire, human bodies melded and detached repeatedly.
Following a process akin to kneading clay.
An amalgamation made from charred human bodies stood there.
[This will be useful.]
The Red Administrator, satisfied with the formation, retrieved the ragdoll human from the burning submarine back to the sealed location.
Then,
Flames erupted from the seafloor,
And a red barrier appeared, pushing seawater out from the seabed.
Ssss...
In that space,
The Red Administrator manifested in the form of a red giant.
"I definitely feel it here."
Thud. Thud.
As he tapped the ragdoll human with his fingers,
He wrote short words on its body.
"Come here. Vessel of mine now in the void."
After completing the writing, he spoke to the ragdoll human.
Tremble...
The amalgamation of human bodies slightly shook and then opened its eyes.
"Here... is..."
"Gilgamesh."
Seeing the awakened figure, called 'Gilgamesh' by the Red Administrator,
"Check your gift. Is the Red Vessel intact?"
He asked softly.
"You are..."
"The gift, is it there?"
The red giant lowered himself, staring down at the ragdoll human with blazing eyes.
Revived Gilgamesh, who had awakened in this ragdoll human form, tried to understand the situation.
"The gift."
"O-okay... Status window."
Opening the status window at the giant's third command to check his gift,
'...Gone.'
The Red Vessel.
The gift he had noticed as the difference between his Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit and Seong Jihan's.
That gift did not exist in this revived body.
"Do you have it?"
"T-that...."
What would happen if he admitted he didn't have it?
Foreseeing the likely outcome, Gilgamesh hesitated.
"I had hoped, but... I see it's not there."
The Red Administrator quickly realized it.
He nodded slowly.
Crush...!
The ragdoll human, created with effort, was crushed in his hand.
"This is troublesome."
"P-please... spare me...!"
"Other than this vessel."
Thump! Thump!
Ignoring Gilgamesh's plea,
The Red Administrator crushed and stomped the ragdoll human, turning it back into fragments.
Before long,
On the seabed strewn with blood and flesh, the Red Administrator sat down.
"There's only one vessel left among humans, belonging to the Void. I can't touch that yet..."
The 'vessel' under the Void's domain.
The one who came to his mind was Yoon Seah.